On Friday, November 21st, Mollye Rhea, president and founder of For Momentum joined MAX to discuss new data and trends for shaping corporate-nonprofit partnerships. Rhea presented an overview of current trends in corporate–nonprofit partnerships, with a strong focus on employee engagement and the evolving expectations companies have for social impact. During her talk, she covered six major topics ranging from mission and partnership selection to best practices for nonprofits and trends in corporate social responsibility.
1. The Evolving Cause Partnership Landscape
- Terms like CSR, cause marketing, and strategic philanthropy all fall under a broader framework of corporate social responsibility.
- Effective partnerships require mutual benefit—supporting nonprofit missions while also helping companies achieve business goals in marketing, PR, employee engagement, and brand differentiation.
2. Mission and Partnership Selection
- Most companies support multiple mission areas, especially youth development, health, hunger, education, and mental health.
- DEI-related language is decreasing publicly due to political pressure, though many companies still support related work—just with different terminology.
- Companies prioritize brand mission alignment, alignment with CSR guidelines and sustainable development goals, and opportunities for clear, measurable impact.
3. Challenges & Decision-Making
- Budget is the main barrier to partnership creation and longevity.
- Partnerships most often end because of budget cuts or nonprofits failing to deliver promised outcomes.
- CSR decisions are distributed across departments (CSR, HR, marketing, PR, senior leadership), so nonprofits should expect multiple stakeholders.
- Local partnerships and event-based engagement are surging again post-pandemic.
4. Employee Engagement Insights
- Employee engagement levels in the U.S. have dropped, especially among Gen Z and remote workers.
- Corporate leaders overwhelmingly believe CSR and purpose-driven work:
- Improves employee motivation
- Supports retention
- Drives profit
- CSR-related employee engagement—volunteering, employee resource groups, cause activations—is increasingly important to companies.
5. Best Practices for Nonprofits
- Focus on impact, not impressions (e.g., how outcomes improve lives, not how many people saw something).
- Ask companies what metrics matter to them; impact should be co-defined.
- Build relationships around alignment, not geography or assumptions.
- Expect long timelines: often 1 year+ from first meeting to funding and 11–20 touchpoints before commitment.
- Make partnerships easy and low-lift for overwhelmed CSR staff.
6. Key Trends
- Corporate giving remains stable despite economic and political uncertainty. Most companies expect 2025–26 giving to stay the same or increase slightly.
- Employee engagement budgets are the most likely area to increase.
- Partnerships are shifting from one-off donations to long-term, impact-driven collaborations.
- Companies increasingly want tangible impact data, not just impressions or participation numbers.
- Sustainable Development Goals guide many companies’ giving priorities.
Rhea cited data during her presentation from For Momentum’s research report on partnerships.
Click here for the presentation slides.
Click here for the recording.
ABOUT MAX MINUTES
Launched in 2014, the mission of MAX is to advance economic resilience in the Atlanta region by strengthening connections, collaborations, and practices among workforce developers and organizations engaged in workforce development.
Through our webinar series, MAX Minutes, MAX seeks to bring timely insights to providers, intermediaries, and other partners in workforce. MAX Minutes features talks by key experts in the Atlanta region and beyond on important workforce matters.